Jeffrey Hertzberg, MD, MS

New study data suggest that routine placement of such a tube is not helpful in patients with upper GI bleeding.

Does sleep improve in asymptomatic patients with GERD when their reflux is treated aggressively? Researchers at Digestive Disease Week 2014 offered an answer.

Studies confirm that this proton pump inhibitor in patients taking low-dose aspirin or NSAIDs is highly effective in preventing upper GI ulcers or bleeding.

Two studies presented at Digestive Disease Week 2014 found that probiotics, when added to standard triple therapy, enhance cure rate and may reduce treatment side effects and disease symptoms.

A multicenter, 1090-patient, retrospective, 20-year study of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease produced surprising results.

A retrospective study presented at Digestive Disease Week 2014 suggests that bariatric surgery could be viable first-line therapy for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Here’s an opportunity for primary care to have a major impact on patients with a specialty-treated disease. Specialists will never boost vaccination rates to where they need to be. It’s just not what they do.

All patients with inflammatory bowel disease are at risk for anemia at any stage of their illness. In the past few years, there has been been increasing acceptance of the safety, efficacy, and speed of correcting deficiency with intravenous iron. Here: the pros and cons of oral vs IV supplementation.

These data suggest it may be worth a try-before moving on to potentially more dangerous drugs.

Fourteen state legislatures have passed legislation mandating that retail stores provide access to employee bathrooms for individuals with ulcerative colitis and Crohn disease and other medical needs.

Results are in on the maintenance phase of the TAXIT trial that employed infliXImab to treat patients with Crohn Disease and ulcerative colitis. Details here.

It's easy to mistake other serious gastrointestinal problems for inflammatory bowel disease. Here: clinical pearls that can help you recognize the IBD mimics.

This first report of effectiveness in a single case study should prompt additional research and placebo-controlled trials.

In case primary care physicians need another reason to pay attention to the overuse of antibiotics for nonbacterial illnesses.

Patients may be intimidated by their gastroenterologists, so it’ll probably fall on primary care to field them.

Food intolerance, food allergy, gluten-sensitivity, celiac disease-IBS may resemble any of these. Differentiating the conditions requires systematic inquiry.

Data from pivotal international phase III clinical trials showed superior efficacy, safety, and convenience for a new wave of direct-acting oral agents. The breakthrough will benefit physicians in all practice settings, including primary care.

A presentation on October 14, 2013, at the American College of Gastroenterology Scientific Session by Joseph A. Murray, MD, FACG  (Mayo Clinic)Murray JA. Implications of gluten intolerance and celiac disease in IBS.  

Constipation is often treated as a simple functional disorder that responds well to improvements in diet, hydration, and exercise. That's not what happened to this young patient . . .

What accounts for the 129% increase in admissions for constipation over the past decade-and what can be done to avoid these expensive and often unnecessary admissions? Primary care clinicians take note.

This presentation at the ACG Scientific Meeting provided the requisite research-oriented material but an equal amount of practical information that will be useful for the general internist, family physician, DO, and primary care physician.

Broad-spectrum antibiotics offer no advantage over guideline-recommended agents, even against severe community-acquired pneumonia.

English- and Spanish-speaking parents cited widely differing reasons for avoiding vaccination for their eligible daughters or failing to ensure the 3 doses were received.

In hospitalized HIV patients, medication errors are common and can be mitigated by enlisting ID specialists.

The norovirus vaccine, while not preventive of all disease, does significantly reduce the severity of symptoms.

Clostridium difficile colitis can be cured by having patients swallow capsules brimming with other people’s concentrated stool. Inexpensive, effective, and readily available. This could be an enormous opportunity for primary care (if the FDA approves it).

This is an opportunity for primary care to help avert a public health catastrophe. Physicians need to take ownership over this issue and demand more time for URI patients-E&M criteria do not capture what is lost when these visits are viewed simply as “Level 2 Office Visit, CPT 99212.”

Celiac disease and antibiotic exposure showed a significant statistical correlation in this study.

In Crohn disease patients, the algorithm evaluates infliximab bioavailability (serum levels) and immunogenicity (antibody testing)to guide further treatment.

Fermentable, oligo-, di-, mono-saccharides and polyols (FODMAPs), found in wheat and other foods, may cause GI symptoms for some affected patients.